Global Civil War
Play by Biennale Warszawa

  • Global Civil War

Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw invites to a new play by Paweł Wodziński presented as part of the residency of Biennale Warsaw at the Departament of Presence.

We are witnessing the rise of a new constellation of political movements, ones that embody the specter of fascist ideologies. All of these movements are linked by a number of characteristics, including manifestations of xenophobia and Islamophobia, and the reject of globalization in favor of nationalistic, socially-regressive protectionism.

The Italian historian Enzo Traverso has labeled these political movements a post-fascist “constellation,” observing that they differ in terms of ideology and provenance. Some groups exhibit a distinctly neo-fascistic profile; these include Golden Dawn in Greece and organizations that aspire to revive the nationalistic traditions of the 1930s, such as Poland’s National Radical Camp, which alludes to the pre-war fascist group bearing the same name (Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny). Some Western European movements such as France’s National Front have their roots in fascism, but have since made attempts to evolve by changing their discourse; others have diverse roots, but converge on a similar political orientation. Such is the case with Britain’s UKIP and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany.

Before our very eyes, violence is once again becoming politicized. But this time around, the process is taking place within a democratic framework, with no authoritarian goals, unlike the events of the 1930s. The savagery of the neoliberal world is eliciting an equally savage national-conservative counter-project, one cynically exploited by populists. We are in the midst of a global civil war among humanity, with little shelter to be found.

Concept, direction, set design

Paweł Wodziński

Dramaturgy

Piotr Grzymisławski

Music

Karol Nepelski

Assistant

Sławek Kyrylow

Video

Magda Mosiewicz

Cast

Beata Bandurska
Magdalena Celmer
Maciej Pesta
Martyna Peszko
Jan Sobolewski
Konrad Wosik